History medicine

Beleifs on cause of illnesses:

• God punishing those who commited sins against him
• The work of the devil and other supernatural beings like witches...
• The catholic church was powerful during this time and therefore caused little change in beliefs and ideas of the cause of illness.
• Astrology -the movement of stars and planets alignment
• Four Humours Theroy -Created by greek doctor called Hypocrates 460-377 BC*which was if one or more of the humours *Black Bile,phylgrem,yellow bile and blood*becoame un-balenced.
• Galens theroy and includes influence with church.
• Miasma *Bad Air.

Treating Desiease:

• Preyer and repentiancce- This was preying to god for his forgivness or showing him you were sorry which included such as the flagulents who whipped themselves in streets to prove to god they were sorry.

• Bloodletting and Purging aimed to make the humours balenced.Howerver the many became poorly and resulted to deat due to too much blood being taken from them.
• The theroy of purifying the air to send bad air containong illnesses away and people often carried inscenses around for protection.
• Herbal remidies were used 
• Physians were medical doctors who used medical books and clinical observation,however at this time they could only be affored by the high rich class.
• Apocrathy prepared and sold remiides and were trained as apresntices and were oftern called *Wise women
• surgury was dangerous and barber surgons did simple surgury like pulling teeth out or cutting hair.
• Few Public Hospitals during this time period.

The Bubonic plague was spread by the bites of fleas from rats carried on ships.This caused headaches and a high temperture,which later caused pus filled swellings on the skin. Peunomic plague which was an airbourne spread desiease and it was spread through coughs and sneezes.It was more dangerous as it attacked the lungs and made it painful to breathe but also caused people sufffering with this to cough up blood. The high death toll of the black death was in large as people didn't know what the cause was and instad tried to use existing ideas but they were inefffectiv and death tolls increased more and more. People carried herbs and inscenses to purify the air as they believed miasma *bad air*caused the plague to spread. Some others tried to balence out their humours by purging or fasting and even some people preyed for gods forgivness and help.

This period was a time of both continuity and change!

The cathloic churches power decreases as of the fact that now people were debating beliefs that the cathloic church once gave them and allowed them to develop a more scientific aproach.For instance due to the period it meant that more physiand carried out more observations and examinations rather than explaining their symtoms for a diagnosis,

Continuity was the idea of miasma and the four humours theroy but by the 1700 very few physicans still believed it.

Thomas Sydemham :He was a doctor in london *1660-1670*and his book called observationes Medicae(1676)outlined his theroys and observations.

• He did not rely on medical books when making a diagnosis but instead observed patients and recorded symptoms in detail.
• He based treatment of the desiease of a whole and not just the indivdiuals symptoms.

William Harvy discovered the circulation of the blood and how the heart worked.He discovered this in 1628.His ideas changed the peoples understanding of human atomy but also allowed doctors to try out transfusions and later complexed surgury was used.He also showed Versulus's work had been correct and stated how important dissection was.    However some people didn't believe him as blood transfusions were un-sucsesful and caused many to die and this was because they had no knowledge of the blood groups.Also many still believed in the four humours treatment.

The printing press was set up in the 1470's and helped books to be publised and coppied easier and quicker.This allowed the transmition of ideas to be transfered to medical professionals easily and new ideas and medical infomation could be passed through communication easily.

The royal society was set up in 1660 and was important as it allowed the spread of new scientific theroys and getting people to trust new technology.Their motto was "Nullius in verba"which meant "Take no ones word for it".

Continuity continued on simmilar ideas.

For instance Galens work was still used as many doctors were un-able to accept his ideas were wrong and meant they still used treatments such as bloodletting and purging and doctors tended to use books rather treating patient.

Healers such as Apothrathies sold medicine and drugs in shops.Barber surgons were used in smaller opperations and Quack doctors sold medicines in the streets and many drugs were fake although some may have worked.Women trated families with herbal remidies and medical recipe books were passed down through family generations.

Hospials were still basic and only allowed simple ilnesses things like smallpox were not allowed in the hospital.Hospital care was still in its early stages in the renasance,many hospitals focused on moral or spiritaual treatment but now ill health was becoming a priority.

The great plague of 1665 was when the recurence of the black death arived in london and caused around 100,000 of London's population to die which was around 20%.Many people fled the city but however only the rich were able to do this.The most effected was doctors and preists who saw the sick and gave them help.

Superstitious beliefs still had an impact on the treatments given. For instance people tried to carry inscences to purify the air Miasma,while others carried lucky charms to keep evil away from them.The most extreme treatment was strapping a live chicken to the beuboes swellings -which was believed to transfer the ilnesss to the chicken.

Prevention methods were even introduced by the goverment.For isntance the plague caused public gathrings to be banned and therfore even theatres were closed.They also kept victims quaintined in their own homes to prevent the plague ilness spreading across london,But also the bodies were taken and placed in mass graves away from the homes.Even cats and dogs were killed because the people believed they carried the plague.

Edward jenner saw that milkmaids who had cowpox never got smallpox.He investigated this using scientific methods by in 1796 testing his theroy on a young boy,who he innoculated James with puss from the milkmaid Sarahs sores from cowpox ,which later he infected him with smallpox but james never got smallpox proving Jenners theroy correct but the problem was he didnt know how or why it worked.

Pastur developed the germ theroy by proving there were germs in the air and this provided his explination on why steralised water in the open became yellow.

Anasthetics were helpful as it relevied patients pain.However if they know its her .....shes the mum but she can't come back from cancer.  Anasthetics in the early stages caused a rise in death rates becuase of the fact that surgons became more experementic and atempted complexed surgury and caused a rise in death rates which from 1846-1870 it was known as the Black Period.

Before the germ theroy was published people didn't understand the need for clean water suplliy and many houses didn't have a toilet and instead a pit was dug in the streets which also lead to bacteria in water due to fecies sewage leading to the water.The streets had a water pump that was shared by all the houses in an area but was oftern comtaminated by fecies.  John Snow heard about the many deaths especially in one area called Broad Street 1854. He asked people and made a map o all the deaths and ilnesses had been and conncected the ilness to the water pump*Water bourne disease*and proved that cholera was from the pump.Because of this he removed the handle so it could no longer be used and cholora no longer exists.

The discovery of DNA gave an insight on genetic conditions as it was discovered to be a double helix (spiral)that can separate and replocate but was discovered by Francis crick and james watston.Knowledge of getnetic conditions and now doctors can give sythetic protein ti replicate a falty gene.

Lifestyle effects 

Welocome ,

• Smoking has stopped since the bans arived and by doing this they were albe to 
• Obesity,heart probblem and drinking too much alcohol.